M. Night Shyamalan and Bruce Willis may reunite in secret new film

It's been a tough couple of years for "The Sixth Sense's" M. Night Shyamalan. First, he had to endure the worst reviews of his career and the complete box office failure of 2006's "The Lady in the Water." The situation became a meltdown when the behind-the-scenes book he'd authorized, "The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale," ripped him for being a complete egomaniac out of touch with the industry as well as his audience. Looking to get back in Hollywood's good graces, he followed that up two years later with what turned out to be another critical dud, "The Happening." However, that Mark Wahlberg thriller was really just meant to prove Shyamalan could still deliver a hit without causing tons of drama or red ink. After a $163.4 million worldwide gross, not all was forgiven, but he was no longer a social pariah on the studio backlots. It lead to Shyamalan coming on board the very expensive family flick "The Last Airbender." At this juncture, pre-release polling has the film opening very strongly. Perhaps then, it's no surprise the writer/director is pitching his follow up to "Airbender" to studio heads all over town.

The Philadelphia native is still playing the secretively cagey game he made studio executives endure in his "Signs" heyday where a studio executive has to immediately return the script after they have read it (in theory it should make the project a "hot" commodity). According to Heat Vision, little is known about the new film except that Shyamalan's "Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" star Bruce Willis is attached along with Gwyneth Paltrow and Bradley Cooper to star. So, if the decision maker at a studio says yes, not only are they getting the notorious one on the comeback trail, but with a ready made cast as well.

Most intriguing about the report is that none of the sources who leaked the info are willing to say off the record whether the new script is good or not. And their silence and the lack of a buyer so far, could be the most telling revelation of all.

Just a correction: The book following the making of Lady in the Water was actually attacked for being nothing but affectionate toward Shyamalan. The book didn't rip him for being an egomaniac--the press did.

On a side note, I think it's interesting that everyone who works with MNS has nothing but overwhelmingly positive things to say about him as a collaborator.

Actually, that's not true. The book clearly dictated Shymalan's diva behavior on the book. And yes, the man is great to his crew, but has a horrible reputation with the studios. I've heard more than one person from different companies say he's the most difficult filmmaker they have ever worked with -- and considering who is out there, that's a big statement.

I think it is great that he still writes original material and puts his reputation on the line to bring it to the screen. Maybe that's egotistical to some people. Seems like the sign of a passionate artist to me, good or bad. I'll watch it just to hear a new story.